Automatic sales apparatus



Jan. 2, 1940. R. sTRA AUTOMATIC SALES APPARATUS Filed Oct 23, 1936 4Sheets- Sheet l \NVE T E Jan. 2 1940. R. sTRA AUTOMATIC SALES APPARATUS4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 23. 1956 R. STRA Jan. 2, 1940.

AUTOMATIC SALES APPARATUS Filed Oct. 25', 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 5M2,1940. v RSTRA' 2,185,872

AUTOMATIC I SALES APPARATUS Filed Oct. 23, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4UHIHHIHI Kene' $+ra,

INV OK Patented Jan. 2, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIb SZEZZAPhARATUS v v I Application October 23, 1936, Serial No. 107,140 InBelgium October 23, 1985 "5 Claims. -(o1; 194-71) My invention relatesto the automatic distributing apparatus, working by the introduction ofcoins or of counters.

The main object of the inventionis to permit the sale of a great varietyof goods at different prices, without the necessity for the consumer toproceed to any previous adjusting manipulation of the coin mechanism ofthe apparatus, the payment being efiected" in introducing successivelythrough one and the same slot for all the articles and whatever'may betheir price, a number of coins or of counters, the value or the size ofwhich corresponds to the price' of the article which has been chosen.

A second'object of the invention is to ensure that the discharge of anarticle is prevented (blocked) so long as-there has not been'intro-.

duced into the apparatus a number of coins or of counters correspondingto the price of one of 30 etc., which can be acquired individually andsuccessively by prepayment for each article, said apparatus beingadapted to distribute the articles contained in both typesof receptaclesthrough a single distributing opening.

35 A fourth object of the invention is to provide a distributingapparatus which comprises a plurality of receptacles for differentlypriced articles, respectively, and which can be usedas an ordinary table(for-restaurants, tea-rooms, etc.)

Another object of the invention is to reduce to a minimum and togroupthe projecting parts of the apparatus which are necessary for thema-. nipulation of theapparatus so as to permit its 45 utilization as anordinary table. With this object in view, my invention essentiallyconsists in the special arrangements and combinations of partshereinafter fully described and pointed. out in the annexed claims.

50 On the annexed drawings:

Figures 1, 2, and3 show a distributing apparatus according to theinventionand represent more especially a coin locking mechanism workingwith a variable number of coins. Figure 1 55 is a verticalcross-section, Figure 2 is a view par,

tially in plan and partially in horizontal crosssection, Figure 3 is aview of details.

Figures 4, 5, 6 show various embodiments of the device used forobturating with a variable amplitude the distributing opening. v 5

Figures 7 to 12 show a series of forms of embodiments for the coinlocking mechanism.

In the example shown, the apparatus forms the upper portion of a tableand comprises a fixed casing I mounted on a column Ia and closed atthetop by a cover 3 provided with a glass 2. e

Inside of the casing l is situated a rotating plate 4 which supportsreceptacles 5 radially arranged, the contents of which can be removed bythe consumer by a single payment and receptacles S containing aplurality of articles adapted to be removed successively by a prepaymentfor each article. i

The vertical edge of the casing I has a distributing aperture 1 whichmay be closed by a shutter 8. e I v Theplate 4 can be rotated from theoutside of the apparatus so as to bring one of the receptacles or;6containing the article which has been chosen by .the' consumer in frontof the distributing aperture 1.

The device for actuating the plate 4 is situated in front of theshutter8 and is supported, by the drive of the shutter 8 with which it can bebodily connected. The actuating means'for the shutter 8 and thedrivingmeans for the plate 4 comprise a handwheel [6 which is supportedby the shutter 8 and which acts, for instance by friction, on a rollerlBa arranged at right angles with respect to the handwheel and acting,for instance also by friction, on a flange 4 of the plate 4. I i

In consequence, when the hand wheel'lB is caused to be rotated, theplate 4 is also put in 40 rotation through the intermediary of theroller lGa.

The opening of the shutter 8 depends upon-the actuating of a rod I1which extends radially .on the base of the casing land which may be heldi in the closed position of the'shutter'8 by a coin locking device ofthe kind hereinafter described.

The rod I1 is provided at its extremity Site" uated towards the centreof the apparatus with teeth l8 cooperating with an oscillating pawl 19and terminated by'a notch 20 adapted. toreceive the end of a lockinghook 2| having a boss 22 and'two small pins '23 which can slide andoscillate, in slots 24 of a support 25. The hook I .21 is subjectedtothe action of aspring 26.;

Moreover, means are provided in order to avoid the accessibility for theconsumer to more than one receptacle 5 or 6 at each manipulation.

To this end, the shutter 8 can be opened only if a receptacle 5 r 6 issituated exactly in front of the opening 7 and this result is obtainedby a hook 21 which at this moment liberates the general locking hook 2|and which is actuated by a. pushing member 28 and a lever 29 submittedto the actionof bossesv3fl fixed under the plate 4 in positions whichcorrespond to the positions which the receptacles 5 or 6 must exactlyoccupy to permit the opening of the shut ter 8.

Moreover, the plate 4 is prevented from moving as soon as the shutter 8beginsto be opened and to this end, projecting parts-34am. pro-- videdunder the plate 4 in a numberi-corre-- sponding to the number of thereceptacles 5 or 6. The rod i! has a notch 35 intowhich'fits-theextremity 55 of alever 3! adapted. to oscillate about apivot 38. and. subjected to. the action of a spring 39. From the: lever.37 projects. a fork 45' so. that when the rod-t1- is actuated, itcarries along the lever 3.? whichsupports the fork. 4e andthelatterimmobilises the projecting part 34 which is in front otitandconsequentlyalso the plate 4-.

The coins or counters are introduced through a single slot 3|intoa-duct-comprisingaeoin selector 32. of known type.situated'underneath the slot 3| so that counterfeit coins are directedtowards a receptacle: 33 w-hilst the good; coins penetrate into the coinlocking. device of the apparatus.

The coin locking mechanism comprises a...sup port 25 which carriesat itslower part'a duct 4| in which the. coins are adaptedto bestopped atdiiferent heights and being adapted to oscillate around aavertical pivot4 3. fixed. underneath the support 25; The duct-M-has. openings 44, 45,46 for the passage of stops for the coins..

In each ofthe openings- 44; 45. and -46-.pro=ject the extremities 48of-.movable rods.49 49 and. 49 forming coin stops. at differentheightsin the duct 4|. Eachirodtw 49 493 iscurved upwards and formshorizontal branches 50 55 of the branch 59 in rolle-rs =5|- 5H and.which are adapted to oscillate about a pivot-52 fixedon the support 25.

The movable plate 4 carries at itscentral-part a cylindricalsupport-53'which is. provided. with cams-54 acting'on one onthe otherofthe rollers 5| or-5 W. The element 53 is optional as thecams 54 may besupportedby any'suitablev means on the plate 4; for instance theymaybe.supportedb-y the receptacles 5 or 6.

The apparatus so constructed operates. in. the following manner: 5

The container 5 or E-containing the article which has been chosen by theconsumer is brought by the manipulation of the handwheel lfiin front of.the opening. I andth'e-tnumber of coins required for the discharge) ofone -article is =introduced through the: slot 3|.

Iflthe container of theLarticle which has-been chosen only .requiresasingle'icoin' for the extraction of one article, there is on the:support 53 no cam operating on one or the-other of the rollers 5| 51 Onecoin being th-useintroduced it issdirected into the-'duct llandis'stopped in'this-by the extremity 48 of the-rod 49 A'pull -bein'gthen-exerted on the rod IT, thelatter moves andcarries 59 whichterminata-withthe exception with it horizontally the hook 2|, the pins23 of which slide in the slots 24 of the support 25- During thishorizontal displacement, the boss 22 of thehook 2| comes in contact withthe edge of the coin C; the consequence is that the hook 2| is tiltedand liberates the rod This permits the opening of the shutter8 and theremoval of the article which has been chosen by the consumer.

Continuing itsmovement; the rod liberates the duct 4| which under theaction of a spring 42 pivots about the axis 43 carrying with it the coinwhich being no longer supported by the extremity of the rodr49 descendsin the channel to fall into the coin receptacle of the apparatus. Duringits returrrmovement, produced by the consumer, the rodtllmeetstheduct-M, causes it to oscillate in an--inver.ted direction andbrings it back to its original position against a stop 41 of the support'25.

If. the price of the article. to be distributed necessitates two. coins,a. cam-54 is located .so-as to act on roller 5| whereby the rod 49 iscaused tooscillate around the pivot 52 and the extremity 48.-.of-.rod 49is withdrawn from the duct 4|. When. the. two coins have beenintroduced, the first coinis stopped in the duct 4| by the-extremity 48of the. rod 49 -which has not oscillated and the second coin takes up aposition on the upperedge of the first one and can cooperate withthe.hook 2| in the abovedesoribed manner.

Ifthe price of the articlerequires three coins a cam 54 is arranged soes-to act-on the rod 49 which owing to one c1avw55 v carries-with it therod. 49 The-extremities 48 of said rods. 49 and 49 are withdrawn from;the duct 4| and. the first coin introduced is stopped by the extremityof the rod. 49 whilst the two other coins come one 7 above the other,the last coin of the number which is required cooperating in theabovedescribed manner. with the hook 2|.

It is easy to understand the apparatus may be constructed to operatewith a number of coins less or. more than three, which permits in thelatter'case of increasingthevariety of the prices of'the articles whichcan be sold. To this end it is only necessary-to reduce or to increasethe length-of the duct 4| and-the number of the rods49-and also of:their actuatingmembers.

In order toamaintain a complete closure of the-shutter 8whentheapparatus is at rest and to ensure a suitable contact between thedifferent elements l6;- Ifiaand 4, the device-is so designed that theaction of thespring; 394s. only felt at the commencementlof the openingmanipulation and at the end-of the closing manipulation sothat theconsumer'should'not':have-to maintain the shutter-v 8.inits-Jopenedposition during all the manipulation. This is .obtained, bythe fact that the. extremitytfiof. the. lever 31 is. displacedaccording. toan arc of-a-.circle and leaves the notch 35 of the rod. Hin view of. the fact that the lever 3T oscillates around the pivot 38.The ex.- tremity.36. only comes again into the notch 35 when .the latteris in front of it on the return of the rod H.

The receptacles 6 which can contain each, a plurality oi" articles whichcan be obtained successively by a separateprepayment for each articlecomprise a frame 56 forming a box the upper'part of which is open. Atthe, bottom of the box-there is a radially sliding plate 51 one end ofwhich supports-araised part 60; which, at each distribution of onearticle can pass throughanopening fil" made in the'frame 56, ex-

tains above the distributing openingBZ the following articles of thepile. The plate 51 is actuated simultaneouslywith the rod l1 and theshutter 8, for instance by means of a hook 58 which is provided at theother end of .plate and whichicooperates when it is brought in front ,ofthe shutter 8, with a hook 59 fixed on the. latter.

A movable'stop 63- of suitable shape fixed to the box 56 holds incooperation with the raised part 60 the article of the pile whichfollows the sions of the receptacle or of the article being in front ofthe distributing opening, the extent of the shuttermovement beingadjusted automatically.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 4, the.

under the plate 4, thus limiting the stroke of the rod and consequentlythe width of opening of the shutter.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 5, one of the arms of the lever 68is replaced by a toothed sector 16 co-operating with the rod H.

In this'figura'the'hook 27 shown-in Fig.1 and also the lever 29 and thebosses 30, do not exist andare replaced by a rib fixed'to the plate 4,and by a projecting part 14 fixed to the rod IT. This projecting partcan only be introduced into the recess 18 of the rib 11 if a receptacle5 or 6 is exactlyinfront of the opening 1. The stroke of the rod may berestricted by reducing the length of the portion 78. The ribs permit theuse, with the sliding shutter, of compartments 12 and 13 of diiferentwidths.

According to Fig. 6, the shutter co-operates -with the locking devicethrough a sector 82 to v provided with a sector 81 having edges 88adapted to pass into the notches 85 or 85 of the rim, to permit theopening of the shutter.

Figs. 7 to 12 show modifications given by way of example of the methodof arresting coins in the duct of the locking device. i

In each of the following embodiments, the duct 4| is in a fixed'relationwith respect to the support 25.

In the 'embod-iment'according to 'Figs.-'Z and 8 thestopping of thecoins is effected in the interior of the-duct 4| by, sliding pins H1 (1H1 which pass through the 'duct 4| and which can be actuatedtransverselyin vthe duct by the rods 1' 49 49 49 described the cams 54;I

The pins H1 above under the action of H1 and llllhave apart H8 ofreduced "diameter which when brought in .the'

path of theduct allows passage of the coins, whilst the first coin ofthe number required is arrested by the first pin having its partofgreater' diameter in the pathof the duct.

If itis' supposed that the price of ,the'article requires two coins,then the rod 49 is actuated by a cam 54 and is caused to oscillate; thestop can then slide in thesense indicated by the arrow F2 under theaction of a spring |3|land take the position indicated on the drawing,The part of less diameter is placed in the coin path formed by the 'ductand the first coin which has been introdu'ced is arrested by the part ofgreater diameter of the stop I I1 the second coin being superposed abovethe first. Afterwards, a movable member (not shown)- acts on the rods 49and 49 so as to cause them to oscillate and the slidin 5 of the stops H1and H1 under the action of their springsl I8 in the sense of the arrowF2 brings their parts of reduced diameter into the path of the coinswhich then fall down into the collector.

In the embodiment according to Figs. 9 and 10, the stops are formed aspins |3| which are each provided with a notch I20 and which instead of 9moving transversely in the duct 4| oscillate in the latter each underthe action of a lever I I9 integral with the pins. Each lever H8 isactuated by driving members, such as rods, levers, etc., which receivetheir, motion simultaneously or separately from members such as thecams54 of Fig. 2, corresponding to the receptacle being in front out the,distributing opening, the'number of stops l3| which-are actuateddepending upon the number,

the positionand the'dimen' si'ons of the said cam or other member.During the opening of the distributing door, a movable member acts onone of the driving :members of the levers 9 so as to bring all the pinsI! withtheir notch into register with" the path of the duct, so that thecoins are no longer arrested and fall down.

,In the embodiment according to Figs. 11' and 12, the duct 4| isprovided with, a cylindrical member i2! which projects over the whole ofits length into the duct 4|. Thev member |2| is provided with alongitudinal groove I22 which can be brought into register with the slotof the duct.

The cylindrical member |2| is furthermore provided with projections orstops I23 which are provided on the receivers. To this end it can be 7provided with a toothed sector I24 cooperating with a rack I25. Thelatter may carry atone end thereof a member which is subject to theaction of the cam corresponding to the receiver in front. I of thedistributing opening.

The importance of thesliding motion ofthe rack I25 and consequently theamplitude of the rotation of the cylinder |2| is determined, in thisexample, by the thickness of the corresponding cam. I

During the opening movement of the door, a

suitable movable member actuates the rack I25 so as to cause thecylinder |2|- to rotate whereby path of the' du'ct and the coins, beingno longer supported by any of the stops l23,'falldown into thecollector.

QbViously, the casing may have any suitable shape (rectangular, square,circular, etc), corresponding to that of an ordinary table.

' What I-claim is:

1. In an automatic vending machine, a stationary casing, 'a rotatablemagazine in said casing, said magazine consisting of a plurality ofradially disposed receptacles for various articles having differentprices, respectively, a discharge opening in said casing, a door forsaid opening,

means projecting to the outside of said casing for rotating saidmagaz'inewhereby any of said receptaclescan be positioned in front ofsaid discharge opening, locking means for said door including a movablemember connected With'said doorand-adapted to'be actuated from theoutside of said casing and a latch element resiliently engaging saidmovable member and free to be displaced therewith '-a short distance atthe beginningof the -latter-s movement, and a coin controlled mechanismfor releasing said locking means, said mechanism comprising a coin duct,a plurality of movable stops associated with the coin-duct and-spacedlongitudinally thereof, each of said-stops corresponding to one of saiddiiferent prices and being adapted when in one position to support insaid duct a number of edgewise'disposed-coins representing saidcorresponding price with the rim of the uppermost coin projecting intothe path of said latch element and forming a-cam surface causingdisengagement of the latch element from the movable member when thelatter is actuated and when in another position to permit passage ofcoins through the duct, means ,to move said movable stops, and meansassociatedwith the individual receptacles, respectively,and'construc'ted and arranged to actuate the. movable means to positionthe stop means correspondingto the price of the selected article asactive coinsupport in said coin duct When thelreceptacle containing theselected article has been brought in front of the discharge opening.

2. An automatic vending machine, as claimed in claim 1, in which allsaidmovable stops project normally into said coin duct and the meansassociated with the individual receptacles include cams mounted on therotatable magazine, said means for moving the stops comprising leversthe -longitu'tlinal groove 122 is' b'rought into the projecting'Withtheir freeends intotheipaths of,

said cams, the cams associated with "the individualreceptacles,respectively, being shaped a'nd arranged to actuate, uponpositioning of "a receptacle containing a selected article in front ofsaid discharge opening, the lever of at least'one of the stopscorresponding to a price 'lesst'han that of the selectedarticle was to'withdraw from the coin duct all the stops disposed at higher levelsthan that corresponding to the price of the selected article.

3. An automatic vending machine, as claimed in claim 1, in which saidmeans for moving the stops comprise pivoted two-armed leversfhavingeach=one end thereof formed integral with one 02f said stops, the latterprojecting normally into that of the selected article so as to withdrawfrom the coin duct all the stops disposed at higher levels than thatcorresponding to the price of the selected article.

4. An automatic vending machine, as claimed in claim '1, in which saidmovable stops are 'formed'as axially -slidable pins extendingtransversely of said duct atone end thereof, each of said pins having aportion of sufilciently reduced diameter to allow passage of the coinspast said pin when its reduced portion is brought into register withsaid duct.

5. An automatic vending machine, asclaimed in claim 1, in which saidmeans for moving the stops includes a rotatable cylindrical memberdisposed parallel to and projecting peripherally into said coin duct,said stops being formed as spirally offset steps in said cylindricalmember, and each of said cooperating means is shaped and arranged tocause a rotation of said cylindrical member about a predetermined anglewhen its associated receptacle is positioned in'frontof said dischargeopening, whereby the stop corresponding to the price of the selectedarticle is brought into operation position in the coin duct.

RENE: STRA.

